{"id":341920,"date":"2026-03-22T08:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/341920\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:21:08","slug":"peaky-blinders-birmingham-travel-guide-for-kiwi-fans-of-the-tv-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/341920\/","title":{"rendered":"Peaky Blinders Birmingham travel guide for Kiwi fans of the TV series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans know and love them as tough nuts headed by the intense yet charismatic Thomas Shelby \u2013 played by Cillian Murphy.<\/p>\n

But his namesake Edward, who\u2019s now standing in front of me kitted out in their regimental dapper suit and flat cap, insists that they were actually unpolished amateurs mainly in their mid-teens.<\/p>\n

Their name arose from the flat caps they pulled low over their eyes to disguise their identities \u2013 not because it made them look cool, like on TV.<\/p>\n

Rather than with razor blades they filled those trademark caps with stones and used them like maces. And the Shelbys themselves didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

Edward, an American from Boston who came over to Birmingham to study, runs a Slogging Gangs Walking Tour, named after the generic term for the city\u2019s mobs.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll lead you around former hangouts, like The Bull pub \u2013 where priests rather than police used to break up fights \u2013 and original custody cells.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, the gangs are history and Birmingham is a lively and good-looking city, with grand architecture, fun places to gather and warm locals \u2013 nicknamed Brummies.<\/p>\n

It lies in the Midlands, an easy train ride from London Euston with three per hour services on train operator Avanti West Coast taking from 76 minutes.<\/p>\n

A great place to start is at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, an eye-wateringly beautiful Grade II*-listed building that details its rise from Anglo-Saxon hamlet to major industrial hub dubbed the City of a Thousand Trades.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery is one of the city’s grandest buildings. Photo \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

In the Round Room, you\u2019ll find a Where\u2019s Wally-style photo collage of famous Brummies like Duran Duran, Peaky Blinders\u2019 screenwriter Steven Knight and actor Julie Walters.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe last surviving set of Birmingham back to backs. Photo \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, there\u2019s a celebration of local lad Ozzy Osbourne, who died last July. Included are a handful of the 50,000 condolence messages left for the Black Sabbath frontman.<\/p>\n

At Birmingham Back To Backs, you\u2019ll explore the last surviving set of terraced homes common between 1800 and 1964, with shared rear walls.<\/p>\n

\"Birmingham'sBirmingham’s grand Museum and Art Gallery. Photo \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

On a tour, our guide, Betty, who grew up in one, tells us how up to 69 people lived in the 11 houses at a time with just three outdoor toilets between them.<\/p>\n

Poorer families would put babies to sleep in the open drawer of a chest while one resident, a locksmith, proved popular by prying open the wives\u2019 locked savings boxes for husbands desperate for a drink or flutter.<\/p>\n

An apt place for Kiwis to bed down is The Briar Rose \u2013 part of the Wetherspoon pub chain founded by Sir Tim Martin, a Brit who spent part of his childhood in Auckland.<\/p>\n

\" The Briar Rose where we stayed was handy for the train station. Photo \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

Known affectionately as \u2018Spoons, they\u2019re synonymous with wallet-friendly food and drinks \u2013 pints start at $4 \u2013 and their 50+ hotels are cost-wise too.<\/p>\n

This centrally located boozer and hotel is just two minutes\u2019 walk from the main New Street train station, with large rooms and friendly staff.<\/p>\n

For another British stalwart, you can train it to Bournville for Cadbury World, home of the iconic chocolate brand.<\/p>\n

\"VisitorsVisitors to Cadbury World even get the chance to write and draw with chocolate. Photo \/ WMGC<\/p>\n

Through interactive exhibitions, shows, theme park-style rides, demonstrations, have-a-go sessions and tastings, you\u2019ll find out how grocer John Cadbury and his two sons unleashed the sweet stuff 200 years ago.<\/p>\n

Back on the Peaky Blinders trail, you can see where Cillian Murphy and co filmed some scenes at the fascinating Black Country Living Museum, another train hop away in Dudley.<\/p>\n

\" Writer Fiona visits the boat dock at the Black Country Living Museum, where Charlie Strong’s yard is set in Peaky Blinders. Photo \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

The museum brings to life past eras with original or painstakingly reconstructed buildings. Buy fish and beef-dripping-coated chips from a proper 1950s chip shop or sup a pint in a 1920s pub while you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

\" Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice. Photo \/ WMGC<\/p>\n

The boat dock may feel familiar \u2013 it\u2019s used throughout as Charlie Strong\u2019s yard, while the old schoolhouse was the backdrop for Michael Shelby\u2019s murder of Father Hughes.<\/p>\n

Back in the city, it\u2019s not hard to find more pubs with nostalgic charm. Try a cask ale at the 200-year-old canalside Tap & Spile (Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice), rescued from closure by local boaters.<\/p>\n

\"FionaFiona enjoys a drink in an old 1920s pub at the Black Country Living Museum. Phohot \/ Fiona Whitty<\/p>\n

Or stroll to the Jewellery Quarter \u2013 where 400 businesses once made half of the UK\u2019s whole jewellery output \u2013 to Temper and Brown, housed in an ornate redbrick building that\u2019s been a pub since the 1850s.<\/p>\n

On the food front, don\u2019t miss Birmingham\u2019s famous curry. Pushkar is fabulous for upmarket Indian \u2013 think sesame king prawns and slow-cooked spiced lamb \u2013 in a sassy setting.<\/p>\n

Even Tommy Shelby would approve, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n

The writer was hosted by WetherspoonHotels,Cadbury World, Birmingham Back to Backs and Black Country Living Museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans know and love them as tough nuts headed by the intense yet charismatic Thomas Shelby \u2013 played…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[6326,14505,182611,2199,49239,156,9517,593,44158,2082,228,26098,142426,194,1094,111,139,69,1118,29691,182610,6115,8466,1963,3291,223,274,437,182612,9863,182613,102,9192],"class_list":["post-341920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-biggest","tag-birmingham","tag-blinders","tag-city","tag-enjoy","tag-entertainment","tag-fans","tag-film","tag-fiona","tag-for","tag-guide","tag-heres","tag-immortal","tag-kiwi","tag-netflix","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-order","tag-peaky","tag-real","tag-second","tag-series","tag-streaming","tag-the","tag-travel","tag-tv","tag-uks","tag-visit","tag-whitty","tag-with","tag-writes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}